I’m thinking of getting the Sonos Move for my backyard and I wanted to see if any users here could share their experience using Sonos and Roon together. I’ve seen bad experiences in this forum but I think most of them are fairly old.
Any thoughts are appreciated!
As a way of background, I was more included to a Bluesound option but the Sonos Move has some advantages for backyard use with limited outlet availability. I could still change my mind or even go a different direction if you have any suggestions.
Manu I have a Roam and a Move and other’s.
Lots of issues with Sonos protocol, but none using Airplay, so as long as you are happy with that the they are great.
Mine goes into garden and it sounds great, always makes me want two of them, garden filling music
That’s very useful! In terms of sound quality, I’m fine with Airplay for this use. I’ve never Airplayed from Roon but I have non-Sonos devices I can test that with.
I’m using a Sonos Port on the aux input of an old B&0 Beocenter 9500. Works quit well with Roon.
I also have a Sonos Beam which works with Roon without problems, not the best sound quality but acceptable.
Both work with “Sonos streaming” protocol.
I see you’ve placed an order, so what I’m going to say is superfluous really, however, I really wanted to chime in. My entire house was Sonos (since 2012) prior to starting with Roon in 2020. From day one with Roon the integration with Sonos was absolutely seamless and transparent to me. It has worked unfailingly in a symbiotic relationship for the last 2 years, and separately if needed (it isn’t needed). I have a mixture of ‘old’ Sonos and ‘new’ Sonos products, including the Move, and all integrate seamlessly into the Roon architecture without using Airplay. The only time I use Airplay is on the odd occasion when I need to group the Move with a RAAT device (usually a Naim Atom). Of course, this works flawlessly. However, the main use case for the Move is to be outside away from ethernet and power, and for this, it is absolutely superb. There should be no need to use Airplay in this case and you will be able to fully control the Move (volume etc) from within Roon as if it were RAAT. Put simply, in my experience, Sonos and Roon work perfectly together and along with my Naim Atom and Mojo2/Poly, the Move is one of my most used devices with Roon.
In case anyone runs into the same consideration, I figured I’d post my experience a couple of months after I purchased the Move.
I’m very happy with it. I always thought of Sonos as the best brand for convenience (I’d put Bluesound up there too) and while I cringe when people speak about Sonos as great sounding, for my case, the Move has proven a great choice.
I hang it on the backyard whenever I’m there for a while. Most often while smoking some food, or while having dinner, drinks or parties outside.
That was why I bought the Move. To listed to music on the backyard, so I valued wireless (not even a need to plug to a power outlet), Roon compatibility, long lasting battery and some resistance to weather.
Plus, it’s so easy to move around with the hole/handle it has on its back. I often bring it to the laundry room, to the bathroom, kitchen…
Also something I wasn’t thinking of when I purchased it that has come very handy is Spotify Connect, which I use to listen to podcasts from time to time.
Great news.
Sitting in my garden with the Move playing music now. Linked via Sonos to my conservatory and kitchen and playing via Airplay. Sounds more than good enough for the garden.
It and the Roam will be coming on holiday to Cornwall with me next weekend.
My two cents, after 2 days playing with a new Sonos Arc. I have two setups at home: a largish cinema room with a 7.1 system and a bedroom with a TV connected, until yesterday, to a PS-Audio Sprout and a pair of B&W LM1s. I can vouch that, at least in a small room, movies sound a lot better with the Arc than with my not-so-bad previous stereo system. If well configured, it’s really clear, fun and immersive. Using it for music, on the other hand, has some drawbacks: while the separation of voices is extremely clear, there’s no real stereo soundstage --the Arc doesn’t do to music what it does to films: no immersion here. And yes, the bass is a bit over the top. ¿Does it sound bad? Not at all: as a system for background music or casual listening, like in my case, it’s more than ok. But I would never use it in place of a real stereo setup. ¿Can it replace a surround system for films, then? Provided your room has more or less the correct shape and size (room not so big, side walls at equal distances on the sides, coach a bit apart the rear wall, high-ish ceiling), and you respect the listening distances and heights, I would say yes. Which, alas, is not the case of my bedroom, but there’s no fix to that.
garden with the Move playing music now. Linked via Sonos to my conservatory and kitchen and playing via Airplay. Sounds more than good enough for the garden.